MoM IC Contact

[khajidont]

Jaime's cell phone is more or less plugged riiiight into his brain, so he tends to pick up like 99% of the time! If not, however...

"Hey, Jaime here! Leave a message, and I'll get back to you ASAP."

Comments

audio

[khajidont]

[Oh hey, it's Will!]

Hello?

[infomodder]

[There's no real urgency in his voice, not yet, but he's significantly more serious than usual. Not that he's ever the most cheerful, but his speech smacks of business.]

Hey, Jaime. I was hoping you had a few minutes to spare. You're friends with Gogo T— [Ah, the white man's struggle with foreign names. Will promptly shuts his mouth before he risks butchering it (badum tish). It's not like there's a surplus of Gogo's about or anything.] —with Gogo, aren't you?

[smooth move there, ex-lax]

[khajidont]

Yeah, we're friends.

[He hasn't seen her for a little while, but they've all been pretty busy. Maybe he's not as good a friend as he'd like to be. Still, there's a very serious worried note that enters his voice at that.]

Why, what's going on?

[infomodder]

[Mental record scratch.

Jaime doesn't know, is what Will immediately thinks. He doesn't have a clue, and Jaime being the kind, generous, good person he is...well, shit. He'll have to navigate these waters more carefully. Professional neutrality be damned, Will takes a second before his voice becomes more personal. Quiet and calm, steady, stable. If he's going to be the bearer of bad news the least he can do is buffer that by not showing surprise Jaime hasn't heard and thus risking additional guilt.]

She's in the hospital at the moment. She was...caught up in the last ceremony. I'm sure you've heard how poorly that went by now.

[khajidont]

She what?

[Jaime's voice is sharp with dismay, and something close to alarm. She's in the hospital, and somehow, he just didn't notice?

Oh, god.]

I -- I know how bad it was, I was there! How bad did she get hurt?

[infomodder]

Reports showed she's in ICU. From what I can tell, her physical injuries were relatively minor. [Physical. Even though he's keeping his voice as gentle as possible, he's not going to lie or sugarcoat things. That does no one good, and hell if he's about to insult Jaime in the midst of attempting to be something of an anchor.] I shouldn't tell you much more than that about her state, Jaime. You were there. You must know better than me what other damage could have been done.

[Still not telling anyone Crane gave him the gas, hell naw.]

[khajidont]

Okay. [It's said quietly, unhappily. He knows just how much damage could have been done there. It's only a moment before he repeats himself in a voice that's longer and stronger than before, the sort of turnaround that can only be expected from someone who's danced this dance enough times to get used to rallying afterwards. There will be time for guilt later.] Okay. I'll visit her later, and I'll ask her for myself.

So where do you come in in all this?

[infomodder]

[Optimal outcome there, not that Will expected anything less of Jaime. The question is expected, too, and Will has a ready answer.]

It seems she played a bigger part than those who simply went and found themselves in the midst of an attack. Her level of involvement with the whole situation has come into question. I've been tasked to pay her a visit and discuss it.

[A ready answer and one void of any accusation; Will already knows it was Crane, had before the post went up. He knows enough of Crane to see some truth to him, highly doubts that Gogo's part was anything she wanted. Still, covering all their bases is part of the job.]

[khajidont]

Hold up, her... involvement has come into question? What's that supposed to mean?

[He knows what that's supposed to mean. Will works for the government, and they're chasing down every lead that they can. Typically, he'd be just as keen on chasing who did this down, but he's just been so tired. Fear gas is a hell of a drug.]

She'd never hurt anyone. Not on purpose.

[infomodder]

[Silent, letting Jaime put two and two together. Taking that question as rhetorical? Definitely. Jaime might not be a god of puns but he's not an idiot, either—ah, better.]

I have a job to do, Jaime, I hope you understand that. This is something you'd be willing to say under oath if it came to that, isn't it?

[Not that he thinks this will go too poorly for Gogo, Crane being who and what he is, but it's nice to have that additional cushion. To know Jaime isn't just saying it, he truly means it through and through. Gives Will more of an insight on how to approach her, too—if she's got Jaime Reyes willing to go to bat for her in such a manner, that speaks volumes, doesn't it?]

[khajidont]

Yes. [His answer comes immediately. Maybe he and Gogo aren't as close as they could be, but he's seen how she operates under pressure, seen how bad she grieved for a death that wasn't even real. She's got her harsh edges, and she's not the best communicator in the world, but he's positive that there's nothing but goodness at the core of her.]

You just have to tell me where to do it, and I will. We're not even from the same world, so it's not like I'm biased from being friends with her forever either, I just -- I know her.

What makes her so different from the other fifty people who went around attacking people?

[infomodder]

The timing and amount of damage from her has been seen as...notable. I don't believe this will go very far as her being to blame, but bases need to be covered.

[Which leads to...]

I called to ask if you think she'd be cooperative, speaking to another imPort [ie. him] instead of...one of my coworkers. I've been tasked to pay her a visit, like I said, but I have until the weekend to do so. If I don't, they'll send someone else. Won't be one of us.

[he could ask if Jaime knows what her favorite flavor of milkshake is, too, but there's more important things right now and if she doesn't like chocolate it just proves she's a soulless monster]

[khajidont]

You go talk to her. [A beat.] Please.

[He wants Will to do it. That's less of a sign of faith in his fellow imPorts or Gogo's willingness to cooperate with one of her own, and more of a sign of faith in Will. Will's a good man, and more importantly, he's a good listener, and smart enough to read between the lines.]

Can I... can I give you a couple warnings about talking to her first?

[infomodder]

[Good. The only other way to get a better idea of this Gogo is to go back through the Network, which Will is never unwilling to do, but people can pretend on the Network. He might read her one way and be completely off, if only because what was found wasn't completely accurate. Hell, that's what happened with some of their worst criminals. Not that Gogo is a criminal in his mind—but everyone lies, and everyone hides a thing or two, and that's just human nature.]

Please do. I'd like to make this as easy on her as it possibly can be. She's been through enough already, in my opinion.

[khajidont]

She's not a good talker. When she's upset, she just shuts up, and it's really, really hard to get her going again. You're going to need to be really patient with her, and you'll probably have to do most of the talking.

[He's encountered her upset over Tadashi once already. But this? This will be on an entirely different level.]

[infomodder]

[Sounds like his kinda gal, to be honest. But he shouldn't say that, might be too flippant.]

Understood. [And another optimal outcome, jackpot has been struck.] If anything else comes to mind, you know how to reach me. And Jaime?

[khajidont]

Yeah?

[infomodder]

Try not to beat yourself up because you didn't know until now. A lot of people were hurt this past weekend. You can't keep track of everyone on your own.

[And it's possible the others who would have given him this information were also taken out in their own way. Disasters on a grand scale mess things up all over the board.]

All right?

[khajidont]

All right. [It doesn't sound entirely certain, because he still feels wretched about it, but it helps hearing someone say this sort of thing out loud.] Now that I know, I can visit her, anyway.

[He thinks about her position for a second, being visited by authorities for something completely out of her control. She's probably scared as hell.]

Hey, Will? Have I ever told you about that time I was in jail for a couple weeks here?

[infomodder]

[Whoa what. What. What could Jaime Reyes go to jail for, attempting to work overtime at a homeless shelter???]

You have not.

[And judging from Will's voice, yes, he is surprised to hear this was a Thing.]

[khajidont]

Yeah, I, uh, got possessed by a ghost? He got me to do a B&E and hacked into some government files and stuff. Only thing was, this wasn't that long after I first got here, and people didn't know what imPorts were capable of. Turns out that I was possessed doesn't work so great as a defense.

[He'd been too new back then for anyone to come to his defense -- there was no Jaime Reyes swearing on his honour back then.]

All the official lawyers pretty much dismissed it and just told me to plead guilty and say I was sorry.

[infomodder]

[Well, that's unsettling, to say the least. Dorian's had him thinking about similar the past few days, enough to serve as a kick in the pants, but this? Rather cements that something needs to be done. Justice doesn't always happen as it should, Will has been on both sides of that coin, but with the job he has and his ties to Mitch...things really need to change. There needs to be some sort of fucking consistency around here, regardless of who shouts or points fingers. Regardless of who stamps their feet and throws a temper tantrum, something has got to give before the powder keg explodes in the worst of ways.]

I had no idea. [Tense, almost angry, and of course not at Jaime, not at all.] Thank you for telling me, though. You've given me something else to do over the weekend that might be beneficial for anyone else who suffers the same.

[Ohoho, from anger to determination in .02 seconds flat, winner winner chicken dinner is Jaime Reyes.]

[khajidont]

[Oh! Oh, no, he sounds angry. Jaime hadn't even considered that as a potential outcome; he's more or less over it, save for the fear of something tampering with his mind again. He's young, and a year seems like such a long time ago for a case that's already been wrapped up.]

It's fine, really! They caught the guy, and I got cleared of all the charges. I guess what I was getting at is that they wound up sending me an imPort lawyer. And he actually listened to my story, and he was... kind. It helped a lot.

[Having someone treat him like he wasn't crazy, and to have a bastion of normalcy to hang onto had been a huge weight off his shoulders, even knowing how difficult it would be for them to catch the Manipulator.]

Gogo probably needs the same. I know you have to do your job, but, um... just, please be kind to her.

[He doesn't doubt that Will will be, but he felt the need to say it anyway.]

[infomodder]

It's not fine. We have imPorts facing punishment for crimes they committed under similar duress yet others get away. And somehow, this is considered acceptable? It's not—

[But then he catches himself, and as abrupt and rushed as that little outburst happened, it draws away. Jaime is not the one to discuss this with, at least not at this point in time. Still, angry? Yeah, a little bit. For, arguably, the right reasons. Protection of life is the right reason, isn't it?]

—something to get into right now. But, yes, I'll keep in mind everything you've told me and adjust accordingly. Thank you again, Jaime.

[khajidont]

No, no, you're right. It's not fine for people who aren't guilty to get punished for it.

But I think you can help keep it from happening this time. I'll let you know if I find out anything else, okay?